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Tool’s new album debuts at number one on ‘Billboard’ chart

September 9, 2019

Maynard James Keenan of Tool performs at Enterprise Center in St. Louis in 2019 (Photo by Ben Vogelsang | Idea Machine Productions for 105.7 The Point)

Tool‘s long-awaited new LP, Fear Inoculum, has debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 album chart. The band’s first effort in 13 years shifted approximately 270,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 248,000 of those in traditional album sales.

According to Billboard, those numbers are particularly impressive since Tool achieved them “without the assistance of a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer, any sort of album pre-order/pre-sale access code promotion, or a single merchandise/album bundle — all of which have become the norm for most major albums in recent years as artists struggle to sell albums through more old-fashioned or traditional methods.”

Fear Inoculum also denied Taylor Swift‘s Lover a second week at Number One after the pop singer’s new set debuted in the top spot last week. Lover fell to Number Two this week, with 178,000 album units moved and millions of Swift fans trolled by the prog-metal act.

Fear Inoculum‘s impressive debut comes amid news stories of the album release being met by lengthy lines at retailers as music lovers clamored to get a copy of the limited edition, physical version of the CD. The spectacular, groundbreaking packaging boasts a four-inch HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, charging cable, two-watt speaker, a 36-page booklet and a digital download card.

According to anecdotal reports, buyers have now started reselling the physical limited edition online at exorbitant prices, with the $39 package going for prices in the $95 to $100 range. Tool has announced a smaller second pressing of the limited edition.

FAST FACTS:

Fear Inoculum also debuted at Number One in Australia, Norway, New Zealand, and Belgium, while making Top Five debuts in the U.K., Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and Finland.

Reviews were equally enthusiastic, with NME awarding the album a perfect five-star score, the Atlantic dubbing it “precise and devastating” and Revolver declaring it “a masterpiece that will be dissected for years to come.”

Tool’s new album debuts at number one on ‘Billboard’ chart

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Tool performs at Enterprise Center in St. Louis (2019)

Photo by:

Ben Vogelsang | Idea Machine Productions for 105.7 The Point

TOOL returns to St. Louis on Monday, May 13th, 2019 for a SOLD OUT show at Enterprise Center.